Ripping yarns from the Age of Adventure

Post navigation

Alfa looking back to the future?

Here is a rather wonderful little film of Alfa Corse in its pomp at Monza and, rather brilliantly, against a screen at Cinecittà as it prepared to bid farewell to Grand Prix racing back in 1951. It seems that perhaps this grandest of all Italian marques may be making a Grand Prix racing comeback before long.

Quite how and why Alfa Romeo could be restored by its parent group, Fiat – which is of course owner of Ferrari and Maserati as well – remains to be seen. The restoration work began earlier this year, when the name made its reappearance on the flanks of Ferrari’s current contenders – as described here.

However, if one were in a conspiratorial mood, the fact that Red Bull elected to use an Alfa when it took Daniel Ricciardo back to his ancestral home in Sicily to experience the old Targa Florio course might be of interest. After all, it badly needs to wangle a works engine deal…

Daniel Ricciardo is the most recent F1 driver to sample an Alfa Romeo

Such tomfoolery aside, it is indeed welcome news for the sport that such a return may be in the offing. Even the ghost of the scarlet cars from Portello – and, indeed, from Ferrari’s workshops in Modena – carry with them more charisma than 90 per cent of competition cars today, and hopefully reviving the brand and its deliciously stylish take on common-or-garden Fiat products will foster a new generation of enthusiasts for this celebrated brand.

Here are a few reasons why it’s OK to be just a little excited:

Bernie Ecclestone, Niki Lauda and Brabham outpaced the works cars in the late Seventies

Count Ciano meets driver Count Trossi in 1934

Alfa battled against Ferrari for home honours on the Targa Florio

Most recently, Alfa has been a force in World Touring Cars

In the 1990s, DTM success came to the wedge-shaped 155

The 155 was also a spectacular BTCC champion

Scuderia Ferrari ran the works Alfa team from 1933-38

Ferrari’s stillborn Indycar engine was revived under the Alfa badge in the 1980s